The Designation Process of Yoshino-Kumano National Park: Compromise with Private Forestry

Abstract

From 1934 to 1936, Japan designated its first 12 national parks. Since the national park system was established as a zoning system that could designate park areas regardless of land ownership, these 12 parks encompassed various types of land ownership. In fact, a high ratio of private land characterizes the Yoshino-Kumano National Park; during this park’s designation process, much discussion and compromise with large-scale private forest owners was required for its Yoshino region. As a result of the compromises, restrictions on forest management were very limited even though the large-scale owners’ forests were, to some extent, included in the Yoshino-Kumano National Park. Consequently, the Yoshino region’s compromise affected forest management restrictions in other national parks. This study details the history of compromise between the Home Office and forest owners, a topic not discussed in previous research. The research method depended on discovery and analysis of coetaneous material, including documents and maps that the Home Office collected in connection with the Yoshino-Kumano National Park’s designation, magazine reports, and press reports during the early Showa era..